He's left the land, and he's gone to the sea,
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;
And he's stayed there seven years and a day,35
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.
Seven lang years he has been on the sea,
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;
And Hynd Horn has looked how his ring may be,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.40
But when he looked this ring upon,
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;
The shining diamonds were both pale and wan,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.
O the ring it was both black and blue,45
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;
And she's either dead, or she's married,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.
He's left the seas, and he's come to the land,
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;50
And the first he met was an auld beggar man,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.
"What news, what news, my silly auld man?
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;
For it's seven years since I have seen land,55
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.
"What news, what news, thou auld beggar man?
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;
What news, what news, by sea or land?
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie."60
"No news at all," said the auld beggar man,
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;
"But there is a wedding in the King's hall,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.
"There is a King's dochter in the West,65
With a hey lillelu and a how lo lan;
And she has been married thir nine nights past,
And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie.